Odds & Ends: Draft Week, Ike Taylor…

Killing You Softly, via the NFL Draft. Hey, it’s Draft Week. And to celebrate, we’ll be rolling out posts, podcasts and live chats in the coming days (as well as Ted breaking down every pick in real time once the draft starts). That’s right, in addition to the usual, we’ll be here Thursday night to chat — live! — about every pick in excruciating detail. (You’re welcome!)

Anyway, over there to the right under “coming soon” you can enter your email to get a handy reminder prior to the event should you want to join us. (And let’s be honest, if you’re reading this site, there’s a pretty good chance you don’t have a life and will be available.)

We’ll also have a “you pick ‘em” contest to see who, you know, gets the most Steelers picks correct. That’ll go up later this week. For now, let us know in the comments if you think you might be around for the Thursday night live chat else it’ll just be the Steelers Lounge writers talking to ourselves and, really, nobody wants that.

Now onto slightly more serious news…

Ike’s Leaving!? I’m having trouble getting myself all lathered up by this masterpiece from the Trib’s John Harris. Yes, like you, I am concerned that the Steelers may not re-sign Ike Taylor. Whether because another team backs up the Brink’s truck to Taylor’s house or because Pittsburgh is ready to move on, the 2011 defense would be markedly worse without Ike in the secondary. On this we can all agree.

Which leads me to this: on Saturday, Harris wrote an entire column based around quotes from Dave-Te’ Thomas. I don’t know who Dave-Te’ Thomas is either. According to Harris, Thomas “operates Scouting Services Inc. and produces the NFL Draft Report for 27 of the 32 teams.” Oh, and he also “discovered” Ike back in 2003, presumably in the same way that I discovered Sepulveda because I said the Steelers should draft him before they did just that.

Anyway, Thomas — through Harris — wants us to know that he sees Taylor “ending up anywhere but Pittsburgh.” You want specifics? You got specifics:

“I still say the Giants, but I’m hearing Denver and Houston. St. Louis loves him a lot … The Giants have always been high on Taylor. And with his agent’s relationship with the Giants, I could see them getting involved.”

Here’s a thought: maybe Harris should have given Ike’s agent a call since, you know, he might have some insights into his client’s plans. Nope. Instead, just Thomas. (Although Harris was kind enough to point out that Taylor is represented by “New York-based attorney Joe Segal.” Thanks.)

Look, who the hell knows what fate awaits Taylor once the labor issues are resolved, but whatever the future holds, Dave-Te’ Thomas ain’t the guy with the crystal ball.

Finally, I’ll leave you with this:

“I don’t want to play anywhere else, just knowing what we could be. Pittsburgh feels like home,” said Taylor, a fourth-round draft pick in 2003. “I’m playing for a Hall of Fame defensive coordinator (Dick LeBeau). I don’t want to go anywhere else, but it’s all on them.”

That’s from a column Harris wrote last fall. Thomas must not have been available for comment.

lol. this guy is a joke and should stick to grading draft prospects. another quote from the article: “Thomas believes that lack of interceptions is why the Steelers have been reluctant to re-sign Taylor. ‘If Taylor had those interceptions, the Steelers would have known they had to sign him, so they’re using that as an excuse,” Thomas said. “I just don’t think that Pittsburgh thinks he’s worth the money. If he was worth the money, they should have gotten a deal done a long time ago.’ ”

maybe he forgot about the whole, you know, lack of a CBA. i don’t work for scout inc. or anything, but i’m pretty sure the fact that the steelers didn’t sign ANYONE before “free agency” speaks to that. without a doubt the steelers are going to try to re-sign ike. will they be successful? i don’t know, but claiming we don’t think he’s worth “the money” to re-sign is simply an ignorant statement.

GlennW

I also don’t believe for a second that Taylor’s lack of INTs is a significant issue for the Steelers. It’s not a focus of LeBeau’s defense in the way he utililizes his CBs (Taylor or anyone else), and we’ve heard little but praise from Tomlin/LeBeau for Ike’s skills within the system.

With that said, I have to admit that I have no idea what the Steelers are thinking. They could jump right on signing Taylor when the lockout matter is settled, or they could be cutting bait based on Taylor’s perceived value (which really should be greater to the Steelers than almost any other team). I really have no idea.